BCNET & HPCS Community to Connect, Compute and Collaborate in Vancouver, May 1-3, 2012

BCNET: British Columbia’s Shared IT Services Organization for Research, Higher Ed and Regional CANARIE Partner

How often would 500 of Canada’s higher education computing and IT experts come together in a forum to discuss the latest innovations and developments in technology? We are making it happen on May 1st, as we kick off our 11th annual BCNET Conference, bringing together a national community of experts in high-performance computing, high-profile members of the Canadian research community, IT professionals in higher education, high-tech and telecommunications industry professionals and Canadian and American advanced research network organizations.

This year we are joining forces with Compute Canada and WestGrid to host a national technology conference for research and higher education at Simon Fraser University’s Harbour Centre campus in downtown Vancouver. The joint event will deliver a rich array of content, offer experiences of professional development and plenty of networking opportunities.

Our Conference venue and hotel vacancies are filling up fast, so don’t miss your chance to interact with Canada’s technology experts! Register today on our Conference page and begin planning which sessions you want to attend!

Content-Rich, Interactive Sessions

Member-focused and member-driven, our conference program serves up the hottest IT topics that are designed to be interactive to peak your learning experience. Our community of IT working groups and committees have devised a content-rich schedule, covering a host of topics from privacy, security, social media and mobility to cloud computing and desktop collaboration tools.

Furthermore, we plan on highlighting how BCNET’s expanded mandate of shared IT services for higher education and research assists B.C’s research universities and institutes to reduce costs and support their strategic objectives. Our high-speed, high-capacity advanced network is the digital highway that transmits data and services amongst campuses. If you’re interested in acquiring a better understanding of how a shared IT services platform can impact an institution‘s mission and vision, this is one session you definitely don’t want to miss.

HPC & Data Management

Our HPCS partners will share the latest tools, techniques and advancements in computational research and data management. These sessions will range from case studies to panel discussions that aim to explore a variety of high-performance computing issues such as the sustainability of data centres, the security measures and privacy policies around big data, and the role of big data in the medical field.

Keynotes On Our Future

Hear from Leonard Brody, a business and technology visionary, described as “a controversial leader of the new world order.” Brody is a highly respected entrepreneur, venture capitalist, bestselling author and a two-time Emmy nominated media visionary who has been through one of the largest internet IPOs in history.

Our second keynote, Dr. Michael Wesch, is a cultural anthropologist known as “The Explainer” exploring the effects of new media on society and culture.

Rounding out our trifecta of keynote speakers is John Towns, the NCSA Director of the Distributed Cyber infrastructure Program Office, who will be illustrating the importance of advanced computing and data resources by presenting a number of computational science and engineering research projects.

Come to Vancouver to Learn, Share and Connect

Whether it’s from the real-life campus case studies or the hands-on pre-conference workshops, everyone attending the 2012 BCNET & HPCS Conference will gain valuable insight on the research and higher education community’s innovative IT and computing solutions.

The national scope of our event will allow you to network with not just professional colleagues but also industry experts from all over the country through speaking tracks and industry showcases.

Needless to say, our concept of a jointly hosted Conference between BCNET and HPCS stays true to the idea of partnership and collaboration, a spirit that is inevitably necessary to advance research and higher education into the future.